AKRON, Ohio – Freshman Joseph Gurski shined on the final day of Akron's Zippy Invitational on Sunday, breaking the meet and pool record in the 200 butterfly and helping the Cornell men's swimming and diving team to a second-place finish at the Ocasek Natatorium in Akron, Ohio.
Gurski didn't just win the 200 butterfly, he did so in record-setting fashion, as his winning time of 1:46.99 broke both the Zippy Invitational and Ocasek Natatorium pool records. His mark also establishes himself on Cornell's all-time top-10 list, sitting as the fifth-fastest time in the Big Red record book. Fellow teammate Alan Li captured the victory in the B Final of the event, finishing ninth overall in 1:48.24, a mark which ranks 10th all-time in Cornell history.
Gurski and Li, along with countless others, helped the Big Red to a second-place finish among seven teams with 1,674 points. Cornell finished 253.5 points ahead of third place Oakland (1,420.50 points). Penn was crowned the 2021 Zippy Invitational Champion with a grand total of 2,304.50 points.
The Big Red thrived off of each other in multiple events on Sunday, as Cornell had four student-athletes finish among the top-12 in three events on the day. Jake Lawson led Cornell in the 1,650 freestyle, placing fourth overall in 15:40.36. Chris Kostelni joined Lawson in the A Final, finishing the race in 15:54.68 to place eighth. Vlad Gilszmer (16:03.11) and Dominic Edwards (16:05.84) swam well in the B Final, finishing 10th and 11th, respectively.
In the 100 freestyle, it was Jeremy Marcin who led the charge, making the A Final and posting a top-five finish with a fourth-place overall showing in 45.01. Pearce Bailey led a trio of Big Red swimmers in the B Final, winning the heat to finish ninth with a time of 45.52. Jack Banks (45.68) placed 11th, with Kyle Pro (45.80) just behind in 12th.
The pair of Jacob Bass and Jack Valiquette made the cut for the A Final of the 200 breaststroke after clocking times of 1:59.24 and 2:00.16, respectively, in prelims. Bass would go on to touch the wall in 2:01.27 in finals to finish seventh, while Valiquette's finals time of 2:03.43 was good for eighth. Sebastian Wolff rounded out the top-10, posting a time of 2:00.96 in the B Final to place 10th overall.
Graduate student Van Cates represented Cornell well in the 200 backstroke, qualifying for the A Final with a time of 1:48.98 in prelims. Cates ultimately finished seven in the event, notching a time of 1:50.27 in finals.
The team of Wolff, Marcin, Bailey, and Banks closed out the three-day Zippy Invitational for the Big Red with a top-five finish in the 400 freestyle relay, finishing the race in 2:59.90 to place fifth.
With the conclusion of the Zippy Invitational, the Cornell men's swimming and diving team will take a pause from competition until Jan. 14-15 when it faces Yale in New Haven, Conn. Diving is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 14 with swimming commencing on Saturday, Jan. 15.
